Great Opportunity to Take Spirit of Friendship Forward: Indian PM

Mohali: The prime ministers of India and Pakistan shook hands with the players at Mohali before the India-Pakistan game began. The two PMs are watching the game from the VVIP box, but are expected to exit in a few hours to hold informal talks.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said this was a “great opportunity to take spirit of friendship forward.” Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani said he was looking forward to a great game and hoped the best team wins.

A large delegation is accompanying Gilani. His team will use the Taj hotel in Chandigarh as its base. The main players include controversial Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who publicly warned his country’s cricket team against match-fixing, provoking fierce criticism both within and outside Pakistan.

Team Singh will include Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon. Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, as well as Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi are not part of the official delegation but is attending the game and the dinner that Dr Singh is hosting at 7.30 pm tonight for the Pakistani delegation at the stadium.